The Importance of Collection, Custody and Preservation of Forensic Evid

The collection, custody and preservation of forensic evidence is a vital aspect of evidence integrity, without proper adherence to these procedures, crucial evidence that could potentially have great impact on a court case could be rendered useless. In the case of criminal proceedings, a skilled defence lawyer will look to scrutinise every step taken by forensic practitioners’ involved within the case in regards to the continuity of the evidence, in doing this they attempt to undermine the practitioner’s ability to properly carry out strict evidence collection, protection and preservation procedures and also look to find fault in the techniques they used to carry out these procedures. Collection of evidence is usually a term designated to refer to the collection of physical evidence, government agencies such as police or environmental protection departments will have their own methods for the collection, storage and conservation of physical evidence and it is the responsibility of forensic personnel to adhere to these set guidelines. General principles which are shared amongst various agencies include, the creation of contemporaneous notes, recording the collection of evidence via photographing, videotaping and/or audiotapes, preserving the crime scene by sealing off the location and only allowing designated personnel to enter, avoiding contamination of the crime scene by investigators through the use of full body covering and also preventing cross-contamination with the scene and any suspects. An imperative aspect of the collection of physical evidence is the legal considerations involved with obtaining evidence, the law sets out strict guidelines which describe when evidence can be collected, who it can be obtained fr... ...y use the evidence to help uncover the truth. Works Cited Saferstein, R 2011, Criminalistics: an introduction to forensic science, 10th edn, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, p. 43 Anderson, T 2008, Defend yourself: facing a charge in court, 2nd edn, The Federation Press, Sydney, NSW, p. 7, viewed 25/03/2012, ?> Michigan v. Tyler et al (1978) 436 U.S. 499, viewed 25/03/2012, White, P 1992, Crime scene to court: the essentials of forensic science, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, p. 20-33. Chain of Custody n.d., viewed 25/03/2012,